aleppo

By Laila Bassam and Orhan Coskun ALEPPO, Syria/ANKARA, Dec 13 – Thousands of people fled the front lines of fighting in Aleppo on Tuesday as the Syrian military advanced on the final pocket of rebel resistance, and a senior Turkish official said Russia and Turkey would meet to try to set up an evacuation corridor.

PARIS – France on Tuesday called on the United Nations to use all its mechanisms to determine what was happening in the besieged city of Aleppo, warning Russia that it risked being complicit in acts of “vengeance and terror” taking place in the Syrian city. With growing unverified reports of atrocities against a large number

By Orhan Coskun and Humeyra Pamuk ANKARA/ISTANBUL, Dec 13 – Turkey is negotiating with Russia to open a corridor to evacuate Syrian rebel fighters and civilians from the remaining opposition-held districts of Aleppo, but no agreement has yet been reached, a senior Turkish official said. Rebel defences in Aleppo collapsed on Monday, leading to a

ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT, Dec 13 – Syria’s army and its allies have taken full control over all the Aleppo districts abandoned by rebels during their retreat in the city, a Syrian military source said on Tuesday. On Monday rebel defences collapsed, leading to a broad army advance across more than half of the remaining insurgent pocket

By Laila Bassam and Lisa Barrington ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT, Dec 13 – The Syrian army and its allies are in the “last moments before declaring victory” in Aleppo, a Syrian military source said, after rebel defences collapsed on Monday, leaving insurgents in a tiny, heavily bombarded pocket of ground. A Reuters journalist in the government-held zone

PARIS, Dec 12 – Syria’s chief opposition coordinator Riad Hijab said on Monday that defeat in Aleppo would not weaken the resolve of opponents of President Bashar al-Assad to remove him from power. “If Assad and his allies think that a military advance in certain quarters of Aleppo will signify that we will make concessions,

By Laila Bassam and Lisa Barrington ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT, Dec 12 – The Syrian army and its allies are in the “final stages” of recapturing Aleppo after a sudden advance that has pushed rebels to the brink of collapse in a shrinking enclave, a Syrian general said on Monday. A Reuters journalist in the government-held zone

BRUSSELS, Dec 12 – The Russian government has been constantly lying about its willingness to negotiate a ceasefire in Aleppo, France’s foreign minister said on Monday, accusing Moscow of intentionally deceiving its partners. “There is Russian doublespeak … a form of constant lies. On the one hand they say let’s negotiate, and we negotiate to

By Laila Bassam and Lisa Barrington ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT, Dec 12- The Syrian army and its allies made sweeping advances in Aleppo overnight, subjecting rebels in the city to the heaviest bombardment in days and pushing them to the brink of collapse, state media and a monitoring group said on Monday. Pro-government forces took Sheikh Saeed

By Laila Bassam and Tom Perry ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT, Dec 12 – Syrian rebels have received a U.S.-backed proposal to leave Aleppo along with civilians under safe passage guaranteed by Russia, rebel officials said as government forces closed in on Sunday, but Moscow denied a deal had been reached. If the proposal were to be taken